The prince is more stable

Chapter 891 The storm is coming
Undeniably, the first case handled by the Control Yuan was a disaster.

The reason for the failure was not incompetence, but a failure to understand the divine will.

From the Censorate to the Imperial City Guard, everyone thought the Emperor only wanted to take a piss, but it turned out he wanted to defecate a huge amount.

This means that the old rules of officialdom are no longer effective. If the Censorate wants to establish its authority, it must break these old rules and cooperate with the government to establish new ones.

Han Zhongyan's fingers tapped unconsciously on the table, and the room fell silent.

After a long silence, Han Zhongyan said, "In that case, I'll trouble the Imperial City Guard to investigate again. You provide the results, and the Censorate will provide the list. This time, we must not disappoint His Majesty again."

Everyone present readily agreed.

Han Zhongyan looked at Zhen Qing and said, "I have heard that the Imperial City Guard is divided into two parts, one in the open and one in the dark. Zhen is in the open, and there are also a group of officials and spies in the dark. Has Zhen asked His Majesty for permission to use the part in the dark?"

Zhen Qing shuddered, the image of Zhao Xi's bright yet aloof beauty flashing through his mind. He subconsciously shook his head: "No need! I messed up this matter, but it hasn't reached the point of involving another part of the Imperial City Guard. It would be shameful to mobilize so many people for such a small matter."

Half an hour later, the long-silent Imperial City Guard Office suddenly opened its gates, and many officials and servants hurriedly left the office and headed straight for the city gate.

At the same time, many men dressed in ordinary clothes walked towards the city gate on the streets of Bianjing.

The actions of the Imperial City Guard had no impact on the ordinary people of Bianjing; their lives had absolutely no connection with the Imperial City Guard.

However, in the eyes of the officials in Bianjing, the actions of the Imperial City Guard today were unusual.

Inside the Hall of State Affairs, Zhang Dun was organizing the memorials on his desk, while other court officials were busy with their own affairs. The hall was quiet except for the sound of turning pages.

The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Cai Bian, hurriedly entered the hall, walked to Zhang Dun's side, and whispered a few words in his ear.

Zhang Dun paused suddenly as he organized the memorial, a complex expression appearing on his face.

"The Censorate and the Imperial City Guard have made a move? What are they planning to do? Are they really not letting the Council of State Affairs know a thing or two about this?" Zhang Dun asked in a deep voice.

Cai Bian smiled wryly and said, "The Emperor's words are not just casual remarks. The power of supervision is independent of the two ministries. From now on, the Council of State Affairs has no right to interfere in the affairs of the Supervisory Commission. Asking even one question would be an overstepping of authority."

Zhang Dun remained silent for a moment, then sighed resignedly and said, "Since Your Majesty insists on this, what more can we, your subjects, say?"

After a pause, Zhang Dun asked, puzzled, "The Imperial City Guard has almost mobilized its entire force today, and most of them have left Bianjing City. Could something have happened in the local area?"

Cai Bian's eyes flashed, and he said softly, "This time it seems that the Censorate and the Imperial City Guard have joined forces. Minister Zhang may need to be prepared, as the Censorate may target local officials to establish its authority."

"In my opinion, no matter what results the Censorate comes up with, the Council of State Affairs should not interfere too much, lest it displease the Emperor and bring trouble upon itself."

Zhang Dun sighed, "The Emperor has disrupted the balance between the court and the local governments. I hope a new balance can be formed, otherwise the world will descend into chaos."

Cai Bian replied, "I have carefully considered Your Majesty's actions since your ascension to the throne, and I believe that Your Majesty has planned carefully before acting, and every step you have taken has been very prudent. With the establishment of independent supervisory power, the country will not only not be in chaos, but will instead achieve great order..."

Zhang Dun remained silent for a long time before sighing, "Those who break the old rules in every dynasty have had to shed blood and kill people. The Song Dynasty may see great prosperity in the future, but the process will probably cost a lot of lives."

Cai Bian smiled slightly: "Without destruction, there can be no construction. The establishment of new rules requires the foundation laid by countless lives. This is the destiny of mankind. If you, Lord Zhang, wish to inherit the legacy of Lord Jie Fu and continue to promote the new policies, I personally believe that the new rules are the foundation of the new policies. The two complement each other."

"Once the new rules establish authority and no official in the country dares to disobey, the implementation of the new policies will be a natural outcome. With a clean and efficient government, the new policies will finally see the light of day."

“Simply pushing forward new policies while ignoring the chaos and corruption of the bureaucracy is merely treating the symptoms, not the root cause. It may take a hundred years to see results. I believe that the correct direction is for the government to first clean up the bureaucracy and then implement new policies.”

Seeing Zhang Dun's complicated expression, Cai Bian cupped his hands and said, "This humble official's opinion may contradict Prime Minister Zhang's, please don't take offense."

Zhang Dun shook his head and said, "No need to talk about these things. Let's see what the Censorate and the Imperial City Guard are up to first. Will they clean up the bureaucracy first, or will they promote new policies first? I am also confused. Let's wait and see."

…………

The capital region of the Song Dynasty radiated outwards from the capital, Kaifeng, and included Caozhou, Chenzhou, Gongzhou, Zhengzhou, Chanzhou, and Yingchang Prefecture, known as the "Four Auxiliary Prefectures": "Gongzhou to the east, Yingchang to the south, Zhengzhou to the west, and Chanzhou to the north."

The layout of the four prefectures was established as early as the fifth year of the Huangyou reign. These prefectures formed the current capital region of the Song Dynasty, which can be understood as the directly governed provinces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

It was already late at night, but a side room in the second hall of the Chenzhou government office was still brightly lit.

Several officials sat in the dimly lit room, their eyes fixed on the dim candlestick on the table, and they fell into silence.

The fact that the officials of Chenzhou Prefecture were still out so late wasn't because they were particularly dedicated to their work, but because they were processing a message from Bianjing (Kaifeng).

A powerful figure in Bianjing urgently sent a message saying that the Imperial City Guard had suddenly mobilized its entire force today, with scouts heading straight for the prefectures and counties surrounding the capital. Chenzhou, as one of the cities in the capital region, was very likely to be targeted by the Imperial City Guard. As for the purpose of the Imperial City Guard's scouts, there was no definite answer yet. All that was known was that the Censorate was in charge, with the Imperial City Guard carrying out the operation, and that the matter was being handled very discreetly, even the Council of State Affairs was unaware of it.

This news reached not only Chenzhou, but all the prefectures and counties in the Jingji region should have received it.

The officialdom of the world is a huge network, and officials are just a thread in that network.

At this moment, Zeng Shuli, the prefect of Chenzhou, sat in the main seat behind the desk, his expression quite complicated.

There was worry, there was disdain, and there was also a sense of heaviness that even he himself couldn't quite explain.

The other officials in the room were all the chief officials of Chenzhou, including county magistrates, judges of the prefectural government, and officials of the prefectural judicial and supervisory offices.

The reason these officials could gather together was naturally due to news from Bianjing (Kaifeng).

This news is not good for them.

The fact that the Censorate was leading the charge and the Imperial City Guard was mobilized was rather strange, as if something big was about to happen.

The officials in Chenzhou were all feeling uneasy because they had a guilty conscience.

I know best what I've done.

The administration in Chenzhou in recent years has been quite bad.

This terrible bureaucracy did not actually begin with Zeng Shuli's tenure. In fact, as early as when Wang Anshi's reforms began and the old and new factions in the court attacked and fought each other, the bureaucracy in Chenzhou was already in a state of chaos.

For local officials, it didn't matter whether it was a new policy or an old law, or what the imperial court promoted or abolished.

There are always countermeasures to policies from above. Whether it's a new policy or an old law, local officials can always find loopholes in the policy, or they can simply issue false orders, deliberately distort the clauses, and create various pretexts to push through the new policy or the old law.

Their only goal is to make money.

If you can't raise money, then acquire the land.

The land could not, of course, fall into the names of officials. So they cooperated with powerful local clans or landlords. Various exorbitant taxes under different pretexts, as well as land that farmers were forced to sell because they could not repay the high-interest loans to the officials, all became a continuous source of profit for the officials and landlords.

This is a vast and meticulously crafted chain of interests, from officials to merchants and their backers. These people are like greedy and evil bloodsuckers, frantically sucking the blood from the people until their blood is drained, at which point they move on to the next target.

The officials present might not believe that there would be retribution for committing many evil deeds.

However, the establishment of the Censorate by the newly enthroned emperor was by no means a good omen for local officials.

For example, today the Censorate and the Imperial City Guard suddenly took action, which was very rare in the past.

At this moment, all the officials of Chenzhou gathered to discuss this matter.

No one knew what the Censorate and the Imperial City Guard were up to, but the local areas couldn't afford to be unprepared.

In the event that officials from the supervisory office suddenly arrive, the prefectural government must ensure that the accounts are clear, the data is accurate, and every item matches the records, so that it can operate smoothly for a long time.

In the quiet room, the highest-ranking official, Prefect Zeng Shuli, finally broke the silence.

"Gentlemen, there is no need to worry. The establishment of the Censorate by the court may seem aggressive, but it is actually nothing to fear."

Zeng Shuli smiled slightly and continued, "The officials in the Censorate are both human beings and officials. As long as they are officials, they must act in accordance with the rules of officialdom. If they go too far, many powerful and influential officials in Bianjing will not let them off the hook."

"If officials from the Censorate come to Chenzhou, we should treat them well and keep the accounts clear so that no one can find any mistakes. If they do find something wrong, we should arrange for a scapegoat in advance to take the blame."

Zeng Shuli spoke lightly, trying to soothe the crowd's low spirits and unease.

A county magistrate sighed and couldn't help but say, "I'm afraid that the officials of the Censorate and the Imperial City Guard will not listen to our reports or look at the accounts of the prefecture government. Instead, they will collect complaints and rumors from the people. All the miscellaneous taxes and levies we have imposed under the guise of the new policies over the years cannot withstand scrutiny."

The tension that had just eased was immediately put on hold again.

The prefectural magistrate stroked his beard and said in a deep voice, "Furthermore, under the guise of implementing the Green Sprouts Act, we have forced farmers in various counties and townships to borrow money from the government. This alone has driven many farmers to their deaths, and many more have fled the area with their families, becoming vagrants..."

“In the past, the imperial court sent officials from the Censorate to supervise, and many things could be covered up. But according to news from Bianjing, the newly established Supervisory Office is a bit strange, and we have to be careful.”

(End of this chapter)